MAIN STREET by Roger Allen, publisher

Give thanks

A long time ago the citizens and the immigrants gathered for dinner. They were thankful to have plenty to eat and to be together in peace.

Roger Allen, publisher.

And how’s everything now? Not too bad for most of us immigrants and descendents.

We’re recovering from a recession sometimes compared with the Great Depression of the 1930s. Most of us can afford turkey and cranberry sauce. Because of Social Security, old people usually don’t huddle their lives away in poverty. Unemployment benefits help many people get through the unemployment phase of the recession/depression.

We descendents of immigrants are a generous bunch. Singly or within organizations, we sponsor sources for food and clothing for the less fortunate.

We have a lot to be thankful for

On the other hand…

Business has been doing a lot of outsourcing to save money. If you’re unemployed because of it, you probably don’t feel especially thankful. However, the idea may have possibilities beyond corporate profits. How much could we save a lot if we outsourced the federal government to China?

I can hear you thinking: maybe we’ve already done it. My suggestion: go eat some more turkey and mashed potatoes.

At the supermarket

A woman shopping for Thanksgiving dinner is pushing her cart behind a grandfather and his badly behaved three-year-old grandson. It’s obvious to her that he has his hands full, with the child screaming for sweets in the sweets aisle, biscuits in the biscuit aisle, and for fruit, cereal and pop.

Meanwhile, Granddad is working his way around, saying in a controlled voice, “Easy, William, we won’t be long. Easy, boy.”

Another outburst, and she hears the man calmly say, “It’s okay, William, just a couple more minutes and we’ll be out of here. Hang in there, boy.”

At the checkout, the little terror is throwing items out of the cart, and Granddad, in a controlled voice, says, “William, William, relax, buddy, don’t get upset. We’ll be home in five minutes. Stay cool, William.”

Impressed, the woman goes outside where the grandfather is loading his groceries and the boy into the car.

“It’s none of my business, but you were amazing in there,” she says. “I don’t know how you did it. That whole time you kept your composure, and no matter how loud and disruptive he got, you just calmly kept saying things would be okay. William is very lucky to have you as his grandpa.”

“Thanks,” said the grandfather, “but I’m William. The little stinker’s name is Kevin.”

Sorry, Larry

In closing, I want to confess that I’m two years late with the news that Larry LaPrise passed away at age 84. Larry was the author of that great American song “The Hokey Pokey.” The most traumatic part for his family was getting him into the coffin. They put his left leg in… and then the trouble started.

The Squire has been Rockford’s free weekly newspaper since 1871. Our loyal readership includes over fifteen thousand homes in the Rockford area, including the affluent Lakes area of Lake Bella Vista, Bostwick Lake and Silver Lake; Belmont, Blythefield, as well as Algoma, Courtland, Cannon and Plainfield Townships. The Squire is distributed through the U.S. Post Office every Thursday. We also deliver to in-town businesses and homes with paper carriers and news stands in our grocery stores and over thirty local shops.